Quest for survival
by My loving angel
Summary: Nine friends are surviving from the 'things'. Will they face their fears and face Tartarus again? This is the quest for survival. The cover image belongs to Viria. The characters belong to Rick Riordan. The story belongs to me.
1. Intro

_THUMP THUMP THUMP._

The sound of my heart beating as panic starts to build up.

_POUND POUND POUND._

The sound of the 'thing' pounding on the door.

_BANG BANG SMASH._

The sound of the door breaking down.

_GO GO GO_

The sound of another's panicked voice.

_HUFF HUFF HUFF_

The sound of my lungs as I run away.

_CLACK CLACK CLANG_

The sound of the 'thing' trailing close behind.

_SNAP CLICK THUMP_

The sound of the 'thing' colliding into the locked door.

_HEH HEH HEH_

The sound of my lungs as my blood rushes back to my head.


	2. Jason I

"Close one guys, they nearly had you there."

I laughed at his response as I gave him a fist pump.

"Too close. Nico and I got all the supplies we need, how is everyone here?"

I handed the supplies to Percy as the three of us walked into the kitchen.

"Yea we are good here. Annabeth, Frank and I were talking about Nico's suggestion, Leo and Calypso are resting together and Piper and Hazel are practising sword fighting outside. And don't worry it's all barricaded, those things can't break down the fence or climb over it, were safe for now."

We were living in Annabeth's house, which was left abandoned after her parents were killed by one of the 'things'. That was seven months ago; after the war with Gaia. Now it's the quest to survive and kill the mysterious source of evil, if we can find it. So far we know this spirit is linked to Tartarus, searching for revenge on us demigods after we destroyed Gaia. Nico suggested we should go into Tartarus and search for the heart of the pit, as he thinks we can destroy it by destroying the heart. It's a big risk, the last time we were down there searching for Percy and Annabeth, some of us were nearly killed, but we know he's right; Tartarus must be killed. As I look at Percy, I can still see the fear in his eyes, none of us will ever forget our experience in Tartarus, never, but we're the last hope for the demigods, so we must go back down there.

"JASON!"

Piper's distressed voice brought me out of my thinking as she ran into my arms. I could feel her racing heart beat against my chest as she sighed into my neck.

"I didn't know whether you were coming back alive or not. Are you OK? Tell me what happened."

Pipers concerned voice and the warmth of her arms around my neck sent a shiver down my back, I hated leaving her. I leaned my forehead against her and brushed my lips against hers ever so gently and responded into her lips.

"I'm okay Pipes. It was a close encounter, but no harm done to either me or Nico. I'm here now OK?"

She nodded her head and placed a sweet peck on my lips.

"OK. Can you switch you night shift with someone and sleep with me?"

I raised my brows in concern. I knew straight away she was having the nightmares again.

"I'm sure Percy won't mind. Are they getting worse?"

"Yes. I'm just so scared Jason and I hate it when you leave me, the thought of you getting killed out there…"

I gripped her trembling hands to my heart and kissed her tenderly on the tip of her nose.

"Shh, please don't cry. I know, and I hate it as well, but I don't want you out there, I'm not going to send you out there with your life on the line. I love you Piper."

I felt her body instantly relax as I looked deep into her eyes.

"Really?"

"Listen to my heart Piper, I love you."

She cupped my face in her hands and kissed me with such passion, I died right there in her arms. Good thing the boys walked off to give us some privacy. I kissed her back with equal passion.

"I have waited so long for you to say that. I've always loved you Jason."

"I know and I'm so sorry it took so long to admit. Anyway we will talk more about this later, we should go eat and see what the others are up to."

"OK."

I took her hand and laced our fingers together as we walked into the living room.


	3. Jason II

"Jason, Piper, about time. So you all probably curious what Annabeth, Frank and I been discussing while Nico and Jason were out. Well unfortunately we think Nico is right."

Percy finally did it. He finally broke the news that everyone was fearing, but he was right. The Gods refused to help us, so it was the only way to survive and bring freedom to the demigods.

"I agree as well, I hate the idea, but if the Gods won't help us, then this is the only chance we have. I think we should go there and then spilt up."

Everyone's voices turned into a blur of hysterical noises, as I spoke. Piper squeezed my hand as she looked at me with a pained expression.

"Why Jason? We should do this as a team, so it's less dangerous."

It was Hazel to respond next, her voice was filled with anxiety. She was gripping onto Frank tightly as afraid to let go of him.

"What happens if one team runs out of supplies, what happens then? It's too risky."

"Think about it guys, less 'things' will come after us because we are split up. One team stays behind defending while the other team goes for the heart. Both teams will stay atleast a couple of minutes apart, so you can still reach each other. "

Leo shrieked, "So one team is bait? A distraction?"

"Well yea, sort of, both teams will be fighting, but that team that stays behind will watch the other teams back basically."

Annabeth spoke up next, "Well see how the plan turns out, but if anything goes wrong Jason, both teams come together. OK?"

"Of course. We need to sort the teams. We should have a couple of strong fighters in the back and Nico and Hazel should be in the front team because they are children of the underworld. They will be big help in finding the heart of the pit. And well need one strong fighter in each group. Annabeth you choose the groups."

"OK, then team 1 is Frank, Hazel, Nico, Leo and Calypso. Frank protect them at all costs."

"I will."

"Good, team 2 is me, Percy, Jason and Piper. Tomorrow, early morning, get ready to leave, so pack your things tonight. Percy and I will be on shift tonight, so we will pack bags of equal supplies for the two teams. Nico you will lead the team to Tartarus and then we will split up. Team 1, your leader is Frank; he will have a walkie talkie so he can communicate with Percy in team 2. Use it to inform the other team what's been happening and other information. Eat the rest of your dinner, and get some sleep. I wish you all the best for the rest of this quest. Remember if we go down, we go down as a family…always."

I looked at Piper and gave her a warm smile.

"See Pipes, I promised you, I would never leave you again."

"I never said I doubted you. I just hope yours and Nico's plans work."

I grabbed her hand and brought her up with me.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes, after you left. I'm fine; you're the one who should be eating something."

"I don't care, let's go to bed. We are getting some sleep. Goodnight everyone. Percy you need help?"

"No. Annabeth and I are all good, you two get some sleep."

"Thanks, night man."

I fist pumped his knuckles and walked to my bedroom hand-in-hand with Piper. The house was fairly big with four bedrooms, which made it easy for us. I slept with Piper, Percy with Annabeth, Frank with Hazel, Leo with Calypso and Nico just slept by himself, poor guy had no one. Leo and Calypso have been dating for seven months, we were all surprised when he came back with her after the war. How he got her away from the island and her curse, who knows, but I'm happy they both found love.

I removed my shoes and slipped under the covers and wrapped my arms around Pipers waist as she laid her head on my chest. I always felt at peace whenever I held her in my arms and I know she feels the same way. I kissed her sweetly on her forehead and then gently onto her lips.

"Jason?"

"Yea, what is it?"

"Do you ever think about Reyna?"

"Yea, I wonder where she is, is she safe, but I haven't thought of her that way ever since I met you. Why are you bringing this up again?"

"I don't know, just want to know how your feeling. I'm sorry I'm just really tired Jason and I don't want to sleep if I know that tomorrow we go to Tartarus. I don't want to lose you."

"How do you think I feel? I'm just glad that you have been practicing those sword skills of yours with Hazel. And that we will be together, but Piper if anything happens to you, I'm going down with you..."

"No! Don't say those things."

"I refuse to accept a future without you in it Piper, you wanna know how I'm feeling? Well I can't live without you."

I grabbed her waist and pulled her tightly into an embrace, reassuring her of how I feel.

"Neither can I, look were both scared about the future, but for now let's just sleep."

"Fine, goodnight Pipes, I love you."

"I love you too, Sparky."


	4. Jason III

"Piper? Where are you?" I screamed with what was left of the air in my lungs.

I took another step down the rocky cliff. Sweat trickled down my forehead; the heat of Tartarus was overwhelming and the fog that misted the atmosphere didn't help the situation in any way. I was with Piper and Leo when we were searching for Annabeth and Percy, but then we were all split up by a group of skeletons. I took another step down, but slipped on a rock, and slid, banging my head on something sharp halfway down. I felt a stinging sensation in the back of my head, as my eyesight started to blur. I saw a figure in the distance and as I got closer, the easier it was depict it and miraculously it was Piper. I got closer until I saw her completely clearly. Blood. I was too late. I heard a low groan in the distance. I turned my head to the left, to be meted with a pair of red eyes; the skeleton that split us apart. I looked back at Piper, she was gone. The skeleton got closer. Closer. Closer. I felt my heartbeat quicken in my ears, like a bass drum. Closer…

"JASON!"

Piper's charm-speak woke me from my nightmare. I was sticky with sweat. My body relaxed when I felt a warm hand stroke my arm. I looked over my shoulder to Piper, worry filling her eyes. I pushed her down onto the bed with me, while resting my head on her chest. Her hands found themselves into my sweaty hair. Her body was stiff. Her heart was racing. She could sense my emotions.

"Atleast you didn't get a nightmare. I'm alright Piper, promise."

"That's because you're here. Jason you don't need to lie to me, I know you were having that nightmare about me again. I'm here, I'm not going anyway sweetie."

Gods I loved the way she took care of me, I felt so comfortable letting my guard down in front of her. Everyone's always teasing me about being _perfect_ and when I'll slip up, but with Piper, she always sees past my leadership/tough act. It was one of the reasons the Greeks and Romans came together to defeat Gaea. They saw the love between us.

"I'm just sick of this. That war is over and now we're in another war and as a bonus we have to go back down into Tartarus _again_. I…am so afraid. I…gods I love you so much Piper. I want a life with you in New Rome, not this, I want this to be over and I wish the gods weren't so selfish, it's not fair."

"That's our life as demigods, but once this is over, all demigods will be at peace and we will have a new life together. In New Rome. We just have to get through this."

As we sat up, I pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her softly; tugging slightly on her bottom lip. She parted her lips, while opening her mouth for me to enter my tongue. As our kiss deepened; our tongues worked together in a wet, passionate dance. When we pulled back for air, I laid my forehead against hers and gently stroked her hair.

"Annabeth came to check up on me just before you woke up, because she could hear you having your nightmare. We are leaving in half an hour. As Nico is the son of Hades, he can open a portal to the underworld. From there we walk to the entrance of Tartarus. Team 1 will go in first and then five minutes later, our team goes."

"OK. Look on the bright side, we will be fighting alongside our best friends."

"Aha, yea, but don't tell the others they are our favourite."

"That's our secret. Anyway we should go eat and see what the others are up to. Oh and thanks by the way Pipes, I don't know what I would do without you."

"I'm the reason for your nightmares though."

"Just means I love you so much, that I never stop worrying about you."

I grabbed her hand and walked to the kitchen, where everyone was huddled.

"You worry too much though, but I love you too."

It was true I do worry too much, but these days were so crucial, no day was ever safe. I leaned myself against the counter. As I took an apple into my mouth, I felt Annabeth's hand on my shoulder.

"I heard you screaming this morning, so I came to check up on you and Piper. She's been so worried about you at the moment."

"I know, but I'm fine now. We are all in the same boat; just wanting this all to be over."

"Well if Nico's plan is correct, it will be soon."

As I ate my apple, it was quite awkward; no one was really talking, just keeping to themselves. We were all pretty shaken up about the thought of going back to Tartarus, but we knew it must be done. After we ate, we packed our things and got ready to descent into the darkness of the pits of the underworld. I grabbed Pipers hand again, as a way of silently promising her that I'm not leaving her. As Nico chanted, the earth shook; opening a big hole in the ground for us to enter. It was finally time to end this quest and make our way to heart of Tartarus. We are now forsaken in eternal darkness, in this quest for survival.


	5. Jason IV

As the nine of us set foot into the underworld, the first thing we noticed was the scorching heat and the fierily pits that seemed to almost surround us. Just like what Piper imagined in her nightmares. As we made our way to Tartarus dread started to play an effect on all of us; soon enough we were about to discover the secrets about what was awaiting us on the other side. We were all lucky enough to bump into only a few 'things' in the past seven months, because we always stayed inside and only went outside to get supplies.

Strangely enough we haven't met one 'thing' so far; this is what was dawning on us. They are getting smarter. They are starting to create armies, plans to do only one thing; take us out. The 'things' are probably staking out in the depths of Tartarus, waiting for a chance to surprise attack us. As we reached the entrance to Tartarus we divided into our teams and said our goodbyes to Leo, Calypso, Frank, Hazel and Nico. Now Piper, Annabeth, Percy and I had to just sit and wait until we were told to go. As the four of us sat in silence, thoughts of going back into Tartarus and fighting to save the world again was weighing heavily on our conscience. Five minutes later Frank gave us the go and we were off, but something was off, it was still quiet; too quiet to say. Piper sensed it too and latched onto my arm for comfort. I looked at my three friends and noticed they were all thinking the same thing.

"So the moment we have been waiting for. Whatever happens out there, we do it as a team. If one of us goes down; we all go down. Family sticks together, and never leaves anyone behind. Everyone looks after each other and watch your backs and for any sudden movements or sounds. Good luck guys. We _can _do this."

…

After what felt like hours of walking across plain, dead, red, sand, we stumbled across a large, uneven, rocky cliff.

Annabeth looked over the cliff and tried to calculate in her head about how big this cliff exactly was.

"It looks about eight-hundred feet long…and three-hundred feet down. We need to proceed with caution and go slow down this cliff; it's not steep, but it's dangerous and we don't want to attract any attention because I can see atleast three 'things' over there…and I can see the other group ten metres away from them. I just hope they are alright." She flashed Percy a little smile in response to his half grin. It was good to see he was making Annabeth feel less stressed. The way they interacted reminded me of Piper. She's the only person I have ever allowed to see me when my guard is down and the only person to know about my fears and nightmares. I looked over to her and saw the worry filling her eyes. She walked over to me and grabbed my hand and whispered softly into my ear,

"This is the exact spot where our nightmares occur, but they aren't real Jason. Look can you see any skeletons?"

I looked over the cliff. There were three 'things', but no skeletons. I shook my head.

"Exactly. Nothing is going to happen, trust me OK. We are going to survive this Sparky and live the life we want in New Rome with Annabeth, Percy and the others."

I leant over and placed a soft kiss to her forehead and gave her a warm, honest smile.

"I know I'm sorry Pipes. We should go; so stay close to me."

It took about an hour to reach the bottom, as we had to stop twice for water. The sand below us seemed alot hotter down here than it was up there. This place seems to get more lonely and eerie the closer we got to the heart. We saw the three 'things' and thankfully they were looking in the opposite direction to us. We were standing in a big area with nowhere to hide. It was almost like a desert down here. We all huddled together to create a quick plan.

Percy said, "There is no way we can pass them without noticing us so…Piper you distract them, while Jason and I charge forward on each side. Then Annabeth and Piper, you girls stand on the two other sides and trap them and then we attack them."

We all agreed to Percy's plan and got into position.

"After we defeat them we should start thinking about setting up camp," Piper suggested.

"Good idea Pipes. Ok guys, on the count of three. One…two…three…go!"


	6. Annabeth V

"Go!" Jason roared.

Just as planned, the four of us surrounded the three 'things', and for the first time, we took into account what the 'things' really are; _chimera's._ It has the head of a lion, the body of a goat, a blood caked mane, and a ten-foot-long diamondback snaked-headed tail which grows out of its shaggy behind. The chimera secretes deadly venom released through its bite and unfortunately it also breathes fire. It's the offspring of Echidna and Typhon; the mother and father of all monsters. It finally all makes sense who the final boss in this war is going to be; who is really behind this war. They are seeking vengeance on the death of Gaia and rising up.

As a memory flashed inside my head, I looked over to Percy and exclaimed, 'Percy! You remember our first quest together?'

Percy looked back at me and scoffed, 'You mean the one where I was accused of stealing the lightning bolt.'

Ironically in a place like Tartarus I managed to release a little giggle. 'Yes. The 'things' are chimeras, just like the one we fought together with Grover. This means Typhon and Echidna are behind all this, which also means we are going to have to get through them if we want to save everyone.'

The whole group gasped, like they all knew exactly what they were in for. 'Okay guys, just aim for the throat and watch out for the tail and the fire that comes out of its mouth. Go!'

As we swished and slashed our swords chaotically at the chimeras, Piper went down, but rolled away from the incoming blow of one of the tails, while Jason slashed a line from the chimera's nape to the end of its back. The monsters exploded into yellow dust and covered Jason with half of it. He quickly moved to Piper and pulled her to her feet. Percy and I focused on one chimera, while Jason and Piper were already at the second one. The chimera spat venom out of its tails and aimed for my eyes, but Percy deflected the shot with Riptide and in one quick movement, he maneuvered around the swerving tail and forced the tip of riptide into the monsters neck. Seconds later, it was nothing but a cloud of yellow dust. We looked over at Jason and Piper, to see their monster running away, probably to deliver the news.

As I gripped my knees and tried to recover my breath, I felt a warm, familiar hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the figure and saw Percy's sea green eyes staring into mine. His smile sincere and his eyes fixed onto my face, as reading my thoughts. He pulled me in for a deep, meaningful hug and whispered into my hair, 'You must be more careful wisegirl, that venom would have blinded you.'

I gripped his waist and gave him a quick, heart-felt kiss and then laid my head in the crook of his neck. I looked over his shoulder and observed Jason and Piper. They had their arms wrapped tightly around each other and their foreheads just touching. They were having a peaceful moment; their gazes fixed on the other. Jason and Piper are such an inspiration and were really one of the reasons the Greek and Romans reunited; because from them, they saw that love is the most powerful emotion and that nothing can come between such a fierce connection between any two people. We should be making love, not fighting, especially in a time like this, not when everyone, including the mortal's lives, is all at stake.

I was brought out of my thoughts, as I felt Percy's index finger playing with one of my loose curls. He gave me his usual lopsided grin and I gave him one back. I slipped out of his embrace and walked over to my two other friends, who both seemed to be quite calm.

'Good job guys, I see a good place for us to set up camp, so just another ten minutes of walking okay?'

Jason replied, 'I'll take the first watch.'

Percy responded, 'I'll take the second watch then.'

After ten minutes of walking, we found a good spot to set up camp. We ate a little of our small package of food and water. As said, Jason took the first watch, while the rest of us tried to get some sleep.

Percy and I laid on the ground, with my head resting on his chest. Like a song, I was listening to his heart softly beat in my ears and I found myself quickly falling asleep.

"_Percy just let go of my hand."_

"_No! We are staying together. You are not getting away from me. Never again!"_

"_As long as we are together!"_

_"Annabeth!"_

_"Percy!"_

'Annabeth!' I felt hands lightly pushing me awake. I opened my eyes and shot up.

'What?'

Percy grabbed my hand and pulled me up off the ground. He wiped the sweat of my forehead and yanked me into the direction of Jason and Piper.

'Can't explain, but we have to go now! We got news from the other group and its not good! Comon!'


End file.
